Monday, October 24, 2016

Friday, October 21, 2016

Mark Wahlberg as a cop. Joaquin Phoenix as his nightclub managing brother. Robert Duvall as their high-ranking cop father. Eva Mendes waiting to be grabbed by Trump. So it's basically the war on drugs in 1980's NYC and its impact on this one cop family. I think this was a mixed bag of sorts. There's an interesting scene with cars and a much shorter scene of Mendes walking down a hall. The Phoenix / Mendes duo isn't too hard to root for. But there's a bit more corn than I expected from a film set in the northeast. The ending was kind of meh.

One Hour Photo

Robin Williams as Sy the photo guy. Connie Nielsen as a wife / mother who needs Sy's services, because she's not modern enough to have a flip phone. Sy's quiet, subdued creepiness is fascinating. I think the impact of the plot was lessened by starting the movie at the end and flashing back to the beginning of the series of events. A casual thumb up though.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

From a short story by Alan Sillitoe, who also wrote the screen play. Tom Courtenay as Smith, a teen-ager who robs a bakery and is sent to a borstal (reformatory). It is discovered that he's a talented runner and he is counted on to win a race against runners from an upper crust school. The story switches back and forth between Smith's borstal life and his life before his arrest. With Michael Redgrave as the governor of the borstal. It's one of those symbolic movies, with specifics representing something larger. I just can't get on board with the key plot point. (Also, the running scenes are awkward. They look like actors posing as runners.)

Friday, October 14, 2016

Friends Vicky and Cristina head to Spain for the summer. They meet a painter with a volatile ex. Complications ensue. Starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall. Directed by Woody Allen. Hall seems out of her league. The other three do fine. It's a film that lends itself to narration, but the narrator seems like an odd choice. A casual thumb up.

The Rules of Attraction

Based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. A drug dealer, a bisexual, and a "virgin" navigate a bizarre love triangle at a liberal college. There are some funny moments. Shannyn Sossamon does a good job as the "virgin". But what I vaguely remember from the book is that the characters had more depth there than they do here. Also starring James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, and Jessica Biel.